


The youngest son

by kruk



Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Character Study, Gen, family dynamic study
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:02:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28716216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kruk/pseuds/kruk
Summary: Faramir was very young when his mother died. Since then, with each passing day father seemed to be more and more distant, colder for the people in general and in particular for the youngest son while the household became more and more sympathetic for the half-orphaned boy.Faramir didn't want their pity. Didn't need it. Because no matter how strange, introverted and quiet, how different and unlike other children he was, Faramir still had an older brother who loved him no matter what.
Relationships: Boromir (Son of Denethor II) & Faramir (Son of Denethor II)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	The youngest son

**Author's Note:**

> A little character study of Faramir and his relationship with brother and father, based on headcanon tumblr ask about Faramir's childhood .

Faramir was very young when his mother died. Since then, with each passing day father seemed to be more and more distant, _colder_ for the people in general and in particular for the youngest son while the household became more and more sympathetic for the half-orphaned boy. 

Faramir didn't want their pity. Didn't need it. Because no matter how strange, introverted and quiet, how _different_ and _unlike_ other children he was, Faramir still had an older brother who loved him no matter what. Who protected him from the father's ire that Faramir himself provoked, who told the wildest stories and fairy tales and endured the endless list of questions about elves and dwarves and all magical creatures that came to Faramir’s curious yet childish mind. Who believed in Faramir when he didn’t believe in himself and who dragged the little boy into all sorts of adventures through the whole White City, breaking all possible etiquettes and social norms along the way. 

(Father never approved of that but never forbidden it either. Maybe because Boromir took all the blame on himself. Maybe because father knew that childhood for both of his sons would end very soon. Faramir never learned, was that love for the older son or pity for both of them that stopped Denethor from punishing his wayward children.)

What Faramir knew, even as a child, he wasn’t and would never be like Boromir. His older brother impressed people without effort, so easily bonded with fellow cadets, whatever they were the young sons of nobleborn soldiers or just common people. Everyone in Minas Tirith _knew_ and _loved_ Boromir, not because he was the future Steward but for how lively, brave yet large-hearted he was. How stubborn and dedicated and good he was at protecting the White City. Boromir was born warrior first and foremost. 

Faramir was admired for a gentle soul and sharp mind, but never truly _loved the same way_ people loved Boromir. In Gondor, it was strength of body, the fortitude and battle skills that mattered the most. Not the thirst for ancient knowledge, not love for music or books, nor desire to avoid conflicts and definitely not the pity for fools. Since mother died, Faramir simply learned to not talk about dreams and fairy tales to growns up and children alike, unless it was beloved Mithrandir or older brother. In all fairness, he did not talk much at all. Because of this quietness, Household worried about him and pitied; between themselves called him _the poor boy_. Faramir did not bother to tell them how little they understood. Even as a child he knew people didn’t like the strangeness and he was, indeed, a strange boy.

(Not for a long though. It was a matter of a few years before father would allow him to join the army and thanks to brother Faramir didn’t worry about that. He was a master of bow and almost so good with a sword. Was that childish bravery or growing up mature that he didn’t fear death? Or was that a desperate hope to stop being the youngest, the weakest, the less useful and prove himself once and for good?)

Faramir was still just a child when Boromir for the first time left safe Minas Tirith to join the war campaign against orcs. Father did not talk to him through the whole three weeks and once Boromir came back, the fatherly pride was palpable in his stern eyes. He could be young and foolish, but Faramir understood the same bravery and skills were expected from him. Yet no matter how good he was with a bow or sword, how well learned in diplomacy and books, people saw him as meek, less brave than his older brother. It hurted, but it couldn’t be helped. Because the truth was that Faramir didn’t want to fight. Didn’t want to kill.

_Didn’t have a warrior heart._

It wasn’t fair, but life in general wasn’t fair as far as he learned. And when you are the son of Denethor, you learn pretty fast to not raise father’s ire. Faramir was always the smart child.

Though that never stopped young Faramir from confronting his father. Boromir said he and father were too alike in that regard. As the oldest son, he tried to keep peace between them. But Boromir couldn’t be there all the time. There were weeks when Faramir did not speak to father at all. Weeks he did not speak much with other people.

There weren't many children close to Faramir's age that he was allowed to hang out with. Partially because he was a son of Steward and as such, according to etiquette, should associate with people of similar status (a rule that Boromir broke all the time). Partially because all his childhood was focused on endless learning. Learning of languages and diplomacy, history, laws and war crafts; everything and all to prepare him to perform his service to the Gondor, to aid the nation in times of war and protect it from rising Darkness. To aid the older brother, once Boromir will take his rightful place as the new Steward.

(No one really taught young Faramir how to live in peace. No one believed a time of peace would come one day; to be even possible. No one was waiting for the King to return anymore. It was just a story, _a fairy tale_.)

(Faramir has loved fairy tales since he was a little. It was all he had in the darkness time of lonesome, while waiting for brother’s return from another battle.)

Faramir was a strange child, too smart for his own good, too gentle to command a true respect. Father grew more and more distant, colder for the people in general and in particular to the youngest son while the household became more and more sympathetic for the half-orphaned boy. 

Faramir didn't want their pity. Didn't need it.

He still had an older brother who loved him so deeply and unconditionally that sometimes Faramir wasn’t sure if even his own mother could love him as much. It wasn’t fair to her, Faramir knew, but the memory of Finduilas was fading the older he was, leaving him with only a vague impression of her warmth and beauty. Only the memory of sickness that took her away stayed untouched by passing time. Because of that he clinged to everything what Boromir could still recall of her, to all the overheard stories about the late Lady Finduilas told stealthily in the corners of Minas Tirith. Father did not talk about Finduilas, did not want to hear about her either and most people weren’t brave enough to open the old wound in the heart of their respected Steward. 

(Boromir did so, from time to time, because he didn’t want to forget mother. Faramir did so too, because he kept forgetting her with each passing day. Maybe they were just too selfish to let go of her. Too greedy to think about Denethor’s broken heart. Father always looked at them in an incomprehensible way once asked about Finduilas but sometimes he recalled her noble soul, the bravery and gentleness, the sharp mind and love for Minas Tirith. All Faramir could think was how much Boromir must resemble her. It was no wonder why father loved Boromir so much, so much more than him. But that was okay.

Boromir loved him, even when mother and father couldn’t anymore.) 


End file.
